If your dreams of being a rockstar and singing all about your favourite foods are high on your life goals list then you might just need to hit up Japanese girl band, .
With 36 years, 1,200 shows and 18 studio albums under their belts, they're certainly anything but newbies to the music scene. While the band has shifted members over the years, the founding members and sisters - lead singer Naoko Yamano and bass guitarist Atsuko Yamano - have been running the show since they formed in Osaka back in 1981. Completing the trio is their recent drumming addition, 22-year-old Risa Kawano.
When lead singer Naoko isn’t eating food, she’s often singing about it; their unique lyrics feature giant cats, robots, or for the most part, food. Food favourites include, “Ramen Rock,” “Sushi Bar,” “Strawberry Cream Puff,” “Green Tea” and “I Wanna Eat Choco Bars,” just to name a few. Last year, the girls took their Ramen Rock Tour around the U.S. to promote their Adventure album, so when they announced their Australian tour this year, we decided to hit up the punk princesses over a bowl of ramen to talk music and of course, food!
Inspired by bands such as the Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Beach Boys and The Jam, Naoko started Shonen Knife, simply because she wanted to be like them. "I was boring (sic) to everyday life and I wanted to start something interesting and have fun in an all-female band," Naoko says.
While none of the girls could play any instruments, their passion for music was strong and varied between early J-pop, pop punk, 70s and 80s hard rock, classical rock and funk. Naoko tells SBS that they get their lyric inspiration from the things they love doing and definitely the things they love eating. "I love sweets and so you can see some of the songs I write have a very sweet spot," she tells SBS. With songs in both English and Japanese, they don’t tend to sing about romance, but rather their love of food and fun. “I think everyone loves food and eating delicious food. That makes people happy and that’s what we want people to find in our music.”
What’s the difference between a good ramen and a great ramen, we ask?
Naoko says, “Yes, ramen is very popular in Japan. It is everywhere and very easy to eat. It is simple – just noodles and soup, but the flavour of the pork broth and the texture of the noodles is so important as well."
Naoko says that ramen is such a creative dish and “every restaurant has their own recipe and style and I think the most difficult part really is getting the noodle texture just right and perfectly chewy. And for the record, she doesn't like to slurp her noodles.
What about Japanese food here in Australia, how does it compare to other cities?
Shonen Knife check out Sydney's Ippudo tonkatsu ramen. Source: SBS Food
Naoko says, "I think Australia has the best Japanese food outside of Japan. More so than America, because many of the chefs here come from Japan, where many places around the world have Japanese restaurants that don't have a Japanese chef, so it isn't always the same.” While the girls like to pack their own Japanese snacks when touring, they really taking touring in their stride and relish in exploring all the different foods on offer when they travel.
If you follow the girls closely, you’ll know they like to document each of their tour days and eats on their , and while they love their noodles soupy and their wasabi - hot, Naoko tells SBS that after many European tours, her love of Japanese food has been overtaken by her love of Spanish cuisine. “Tapas is my favourite food and I also really love cheese, soft Camembert cheese, fresh bread, oh, and the chocolate in Europe, it’s so good, too!”
"I was an emotional sap the whole time. I cried every night," said Cobain.
The girls don't take themselves too seriously. With a dedicated tribute album to their name - Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them - it wasn't until 1991 that they would come across one of their biggest fans in Kurt Cobain who went to see them play live at their Los Angeles show. It was here that he asked the band if they'd open for Nirvana during their UK Tour later that year. At the time, Naoko says their English wasn't very good and they didn't have much experience touring and with no internet, the band didn't really know much about Kurt Cobain or Nirvana."Everything is different now to then. I used to buy a travel book and there was lots of snail mail communication, now we have the internet to thank." In a , Cobain expressed the impact the girls had on him and the band and how much they loved watching the girls perform, how they won over the audience every night during their tour. "I was an emotional sap the whole time. I cried every night," said Cobain.
And what we've learnt about the girls is that even though they love touring and exploring the food of other countries, they never lose sight of their creature comforts - and that comes in the form of a big bowl of ramen noodles in the hotel room right after a gig.
Get your hands on this low and slow .
This familiar Japanese staple has a surprising history. Source: Feast magazine
